Have you ever heard the story of The Mouse Trap ( author unknown)? It goes like this, with my thoughts added afterwards:
Main points of the story:
- A mouse was devastated to discover a farmer and his wife had purchased a mousetrap.
- In the farmyard, the mouse tried to warn the animals: “There is a mousetrap in the house!”
- The chicken didn’t think it concerned her and couldn’t be bothered with it.
- The pig was sympathetic but decided all he could do was pray for the mouse.
- The cow said “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”
- The mousetrap caught a poisonous snake instead.
- The snake bit the farmer’s wife., she was rushed to the hospital and came home with a fever.
- You treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer killed the chicken.
- The sickness continued and the farmer butchered the pig to feed the friends and neighbors who came to help.
- When the farmer’s wife died the cow provided the meat for all the people who came for her funeral.
- The mouse watched from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.
Most of our lives may have been fairly self-centered, mainly looking out for ourselves and what’s best for us. But I think with all the turmoil around us these days, we are realizing how interconnected we all are.
I read a puzzle comparison about how each person is like a piece of a jig saw puzzle: each of us is necessary, each of us is entirely unique, not one of us is more or less valuable, when a piece is missing, the whole picture suffers, and we are most effective when we stay connected!
I love that comparison and can see our puzzle coming together in so many ways. People are keeping an eye out for one another. We are making an effort to be an encouragement to those who are struggling. We are appreciating our blessings and the people who help to make those blessings possible. We are taking our eyes off of ourselves and caring for other people. And when this pandemic is over, I look forward to seeing the beautiful puzzle we will have created together.
Have a wonderful day,
Carol